


ballroom banter

by tansybells



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Affectionate Insults, Ambiguous Relationships, Ballroom Dancing, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:07:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23668096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tansybells/pseuds/tansybells
Summary: a brief exchange between hilda and claude at the white heron ball
Relationships: Hilda Valentine Goneril & Claude von Riegan
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21
Collections: Hilda Ship Exchange 2020





	ballroom banter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ajstyling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ajstyling/gifts).



“You really should have let me do your makeup,” Hilda murmured, sidling up to Claude’s side with a glass of berry-pink punch in either hand and a sweet smile accentuating her features. “I  _ know  _ you’re aware of how hot you are; it was really a stupid decision on your part to ignore my magnanimous offer. Just think. You could have been even  _ hotter. _ ”

“Sometimes,” Claude said, speaking quietly as he looped an arm around her shoulders, “I forget just how smart you actually are. Magnanimous? That’s a ten-coin word if ever I heard one.”

She snorted. Sure, she took a certain amount of pleasure in being underestimated by her peers, but Claude knew better. If  _ anyone,  _ it was  _ Claude  _ who knew better! He knew like, everything about her. But glancing up, she caught sight of his cocky smile and narrowed her eyes.

“You’re an ass.” In a stunning display of petty revenge, Hilda took a swallow from both glasses—entirely ignoring the fact that she’d initially brought one for Claude—and held the emptier one up for him to take.

“Seriously, though. Your eyes are stunning. Just a smidge of eyeshadow, some liner, and fuck if I’d let you escape without mascara—you’d be unstoppable.” She felt Claude’s laughter rumble through his chest, so close was their awkward almost-hug. “Everyone would be so entranced by your beauty that none of them could catch onto your nefarious schemes. You should try it out sometime. I mean, that’s what I do?”

Hilda paused to down another sip from her own glass. Deliciously sweet, somewhat bubbly, and unfortunately non-alcoholic, “I mean. It’s not like people help me  _ just  _ because I’m cute. I reward them and everything. Being cute helps, though.”

“Super cute,” Claude teased.

Then, to her surprise—and delight, honestly—he leaned down to land a kiss on her cheek. Hilda felt herself flush at the unexpected contact, but gently swatted him away anyway.

Not to be dissuaded from conversation, however, he rolled his shoulders in a shrug and looked back out to the dancing nobles around them.

“I didn’t forget about your offer on purpose,” he continued, “but Seteth called us house leaders out for a conference before the ball started. You know how he is.”

“He let you know that if anything happened at the ball, he’d hold you personally responsible?”

“Yeah. I probably would have made it over to your room if that hadn’t gotten in the way. We all good?”

She side-eyed Claude lazily, who just looked down at her with that stupidly charming smile. But when she didn’t immediately respond to his question, lighthearted and far from serious as it was, he removed his arm from around her shoulders and instead held his hand out in an obvious invitation to dance.

“You know it’s only your loss,” Hilda finally admitted, cracking a wide smile as she placed her hand in his. “Just remember that you’re gonna have to make it up to me. I’m thinking like, a Claude-sponsored day out on the town. Drop by some boutiques, lunch at this cute little café I’ve been wanting to check out—how would you feel about me doing your makeup before we head out?”

Claude drew her out onto the dance floor as soon as he set his and Hilda’s glasses of punch to the side.

“I think we can manage something. Maybe nothing as extravagant as what you’re imagining, but we’ll do  _ something. _ ”

And as Hilda allowed herself to get swept up in the music and relish in the opportunity to talk to one of her absolute favorite people in the world, she had to laugh. “You’re a mess, you know that?”

“Maybe. But if that’s the case,” Claude said as he leaned down to accept the kiss Hilda herself had to offer, “at least I’ll be the prettiest damn mess around." 

**Author's Note:**

> tbh if i could just write claude and hilda's banter forever i think i'd be content in life


End file.
